Untitled
by SerenitysBelly
Summary: Life after BDM, spoilers. Focus on River's development and healing. Just when the crew thinks they're in the clear, River sees something. The Academy is back and not only looking for her but for new candidates. Can the crew bring down the Academy?
1. Prologue

A/N: I was challenged to release a full length Firefly fic, this is an idea I've been toying with since I started writing fics again.  I was just testing the waters up until now.  Post BDM and series, this is just a little opener.  I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own this 'verse, but I sure like playin' with 'em.

--

Prologue

--

"It ain't all buttons and charts, little albatross.  You know what the first rule of flying is?" he paused glancing in her direction as she flicked and pressed switches and buttons on the copilot console, she stopped.

"Well, I suppose you do, since you already know what I'm about to say."

"I do," she smiled, hugging her knees to her chest, "But I still like to hear you say it."

"Love," he states simply looking out at the rain, "You can learn all the math in the 'verse but you take a boat in the air that you don't love, she'll shake you off just as sure as the turning of worlds.  Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down, tells you she's hurting before she keens.  Makes her a home," Mal turned his face to her.

"Storm's getting worse," River says looking out the window in front of her.

"We'll pass through it soon enough," he says returning his gaze to the sky outside.

Sure as day, it's only a minute ride before they break the top of the clouds, daylight flooding the bridge through the large front window.  River smiles still hugging her knees to her chest and looks around the cockpit, taking in every inch as if she were just truly seeing it for the first time.

Love.  That was indeed something she felt for Serenity and her crew.  Such a powerful feeling welled in the pit of her stomach and worked its way up to her face.

She turns back to the now black window, tears welling in her eyes and a smile playing on her lips.  She holds onto the emotion, not letting it escape and feeling truly happy, something she hasn't felt in a long time.  She holds the explosion in and gazes upon her captain.  Love.

She is capable of it, and he is too.  He'd shown it to her.

Suddenly she is shaken from her thoughts.

"What was that?" Mal searches the many displays and screens for the source of the noise.  When he doesn't find it he tries to catch a glimpse of the ship outside the front window.

River reaches her arms out front to touch the console.  She runs her hands along the front edge, soothing Serenity.  Love.


	2. Sihnon

A/N: Let me set the record straight. I usually don't ship non-canonly but I've fallen in love with certain pairings, nobody's perfect. I'm not just going to throw these beautiful characters into strange situations though. It'll all get explained.

Disclaimer: It sure would be shiny to own these guys, but as much as I'd love my very own Captain Reynolds, I don't have one. Mmm, blue eyes.

--

Chapter 1: Sihnon

--

_"...pictures can't capture it. It's like an ocean of light."_

--

Inara packed her few belongings into the trunks she had mistakenly left on Serenity when she left the first time. Before her days with the Operative, before her tour through Reaver country, and before Miranda, she had left these two tiny trunks behind. So much happened in such a short span of time, here she was, packing again.

She got word over the com they'd be approaching Sihnon within a few hours. Just enough time to pack and say her goodbyes. The second time around they shouldn't be quite so painful, she was leaving on better terms this time around.

She felt his presence at her door before she heard his knock.

"_Qing__ jin_," she said not putting down her packing.

She felt the air shift as he made his way across the passenger dorm where she'd been staying. It was small; she wanted her shuttle back, but the bed and other comforts were gone with her first departure. Mal always had a strong, heady air about him when he came knocking at her door. It swirled the light incense filled air about.

"You know," he started an awkward beat to his pause, "you don't have to do this."

Inara stopped in her folding of a peach dress and held it crumpled in her arms. She turned toward Mal, a hint of hope on her face. Something he doesn't catch.

"I mean to say, we've got the space, it ain't nothing like your spacious, comfy shuttle, but," he stopped as her face fell.

"I say somethin' wrong?"

"Not at all," a bitter smile painted her face.

"Listen, 'nara," he started again a new emotion in his voice.

"I can't make you do nothing you don't want to, but I know it would mean a lot to the crew if you stayed," he paused, "Would mean a lot to me too."

Before she knew it, he's close to her. The peach silk smashed between them.

"Mal," she tried to find an excuse, "I don't know."

"That's what you told me three weeks ago 'nara," he looked down at her, "'cept there was a bit more of a happy tone to it."

"I'm going to miss Serenity, but I can't stay on a whim like this. I've made arrangements, appointments, and commitments."

He leaned down, catching her unaware as she tries to explain, searching for answers and excuses. Her lips were caught in a kiss, her thoughts racing. She wanted to return it but instead pushed him away.

"Hell Inara, what in this gorram 'verse do you want anyway?" he backed away, anger in his voice and hurt on his face, "'Cause apparently I sure as ruttin' hell can't give it to you."

"Mal."

"_Tze__ sh'un tze mieh_," he muttered as he slid the door shut behind him.

As quick as he came, he's gone. Inara looked down at the silk in her hands; she's been clutching it so tightly it's wrinkled. A hand found its way to her lips to hover there as she stared at the door, where he had been.

"I'm a Companion, Mal," she whispered to the shut door.

--

The cargo bay doors opened to the bright lights of the largest city of Sihnon. Just as Inara had described it to the rest of the crew, it truly was an ocean of light. Kaylee's eyes flitted to every sight she can take in, awe on her face. The sight in front of them was rich with Chinese influence, right down to the fancy, elaborate clothes the people out for a mid-morning stroll on the docks were wearing. Gleaming silver buildings and sparkling transports in many colors, sliding sleekly through the air reflected the sunlight off their many facets.

"Everything's so shiny. Ain't never seen nothing shinier."

"They don't call it the jewel of the Core for nothing," Simon chimed in, grinning at Kaylee.

"Don't be getting too fond of the view," Zoë stepped up, "can't be staying too long, purple-bellies like to peek in on new arrivals."

Inara was standing next to her two small, tightly packed trunks, a solemn look on her face.

The crew had gathered in the hold to say their final goodbyes. All of them were present but Mal, who was standing back at the door to the catwalk. Inara shot him glances, looking worried.

Zoë said goodbye first, a firm handshake and a few short words. Zoë never had been one for goodbyes, at least not non-terse ones. Jayne mumbled a few words and bent down for a hug, something which caught Inara by surprise noting her gasp. Simon and River approached together, River clutching something in her hand and Simon with his hand on her back.

"You'll be missed," Simon said reaching to embrace Inara.

"You will too."

"River? You had something to say?"

"Yes, Simon," she said obviously exasperated, "You are such a pain."

"I'll miss your company and the smell of sex and incense."

"River!"

"Goodbye," River said stiffly. She drops the items she'd been clutching and walked across the cargo bay and up the stairs to perch on her usual spot on the catwalk.

Simon bent to pick up the folded paper animals.

"She'd made some origami, she said something about a present, gathered them up, and brought them with her," he tried to justify, "I'm sorry, she really didn't mean, it's just hard for her, saying goodbye and having to leave Sihnon, it was so close to home, and-"

"It's alright Simon," she looked up at the catwalk where River is perched, "Thank you River."

"Means nothing, just bits, paper, squares, geometry."

Kaylee had been crying since Inara said her first goodbye to Zoë. Her tears painted shiny trails down her grease covered cheeks.

"Kaylee, we'll meet again. And I promise to wave you often."

"More'n once a week?" Kaylee asked hopefully.

"More than once a week."

"I'm going to miss you something terrible Inara, there's going to be no one to talk to just girls."

"Just put it right in those waves you'll be so busy sending me," she wrapped the mechanic in a hug. A few moments later the horn of a hovercraft broke them apart.

The hovercraft was something far nicer than any of the mules Serenity had ever had. Its white surface gleamed in the sun, the surface of it obviously polished extensively. The transport wasn't boxy like the new hovercraft on Serenity was. The body of it had curves and a sleekness to it that boasted high speed and aero-dynamics. It definitely provided a smooth, luxurious ride. The crew of Serenity saw it as less a mule and more of a powered palanquin fittingly. The hired hands had already gathered her two small trunks.

One final, short hug was shared between Kaylee and Inara before she started down the ramp to her coach. She's stopped in her tracks by someone calling her name.

"Inara!"

Mal stood at the top of the ramp looking down, an envelope in his hands.

"Your security deposit."

Inara broke inside slightly, faltering at his words. She hoped he had come to his senses and would have the right words to say. She took the envelope in her hands and turned away again. The first time she had left, Serenity had been pinched on cash, and she'd told Mal to forget the deposit. Obviously he'd brought this up to throw dust in her eyes and salt in her wounds, he implied that they'd been nothing but business partners. She could see in his eyes that it wasn't just that by any stretch.

"Take care, all of you," she smiled her last smile to the crew of Serenity, before stepping gingerly up the small staircase rolled out for her on the side of the transport.

She was barely out of sight when Kaylee pipes up.

"Figures the Companion House has such shiny things, just look at Inara. Ain't never seen a transport so shiny, have you? Wish I could tinker with some fancy machinery such as that."

"Hell I got some machinery for you."

"Could you be any more crude?" Simon turned to Jayne.

"Coulda used some other words."

"I stand corrected," Simon said, stalking off to the infirmary.

The cargo bay doors hummed closed, Mal at the controls.

"Time to skirt our way over to Beaumonde. Sniff out some jobs. Shop for some parts."

"Really cap'n?" Kaylee looked hopeful.

"Don't you go about breaking the bank, I ain't Santa."

"Just got to set a course that takes us around all the Alliance checkpoints sir?"

"Shouldn't be too hard."

"You never were one for maps, sir," there was a tinge of sadness in her voice, setting course had been Wash's job.

"We'll find somewa-" he was cut short by a sudden lurch of the ship.

"_Ta shi suo you di yu de diao zi de ma_!" Mal swore, "Someone care to tell me who's commandeering my ship?"

He was already halfway up the catwalk stairs.

--


	3. The Black: Part I

A/N: I was awarded with a Serenity: Collector's Edition after I started conceiving and writing this and I was introduced to the R. Tam sessions.  If you haven't seen them, I suggest you look for an eight minute video on You-Tube.  I love the glimpse they give into the Academy, River's ability, and descent into insanity so much that I'm working on incorporating them into the story.  Also, I apologize for the problems in verb tenses, I've been reading the shooting scripts from the series and the movie for some insight and it's messed with my brain some.  I fix the tenses as I see them conflicting, while the story won't change, I do occasionally modify the chapters as I find some crap wrong with them.

Disclaimer: I love this 'verse Joss has created, but I don't own 'em, as much as I wish I did so I'd be rich.

--

The Black – Part I

--

_"Hell, I been to the edge.  Just looked like more space."_

--

Mal Reynolds was protective of three things: his ship, his crew, and his emotions.  Naturally when two of the three were being threatened, he got a mite twitchy.

Mal stormed to the bridge in a panic.

_'Who in blazing hell is trying to move my ship?' _his mind flared,_ 'And just where in _fei fei de pi yan_ did they think we were keen on goin'?'  _His mind lit up with questions as he reached for his gun.

He came to the bridge, mostly expecting to see no one there and an Alliance crane swinging his ship around.  He expected to be getting towed for his expired ship documentation and markings; such was the petty dealings of the Core.  Instead, he found himself looking bluntly at the back of River's head.  She was hunched over the displays and screens, studying them deeply.  She didn't even look up to watch what her right hand was doing: punching buttons, turning dials, and clacking switches.

"You're angry," she said, not even stammering in her fluid programming of the console.

"Angry might be too mild a word for it," she seemed to wince, but still the was no falter in the steady tick-tack of the console's many buttons.

"We are headed for Beaumonde, Captain."

"Is that's what you've gone and done?"

"Seems so sir," Zoë had reached the bridge and was peering over River's shoulder, examining her work.  "She's done a good job of it too, it seems," she looked Mal in the eye, "We won't be crossing within a hundred miles of an Alliance checkpoint or cruiser."

Mal furrowed his eyebrows.

"Huh," he paused, "Now how'd you go and manage that, little one?"

"There may seem to be infinite routes to take, but there's not.  It's always a finite number," she said distantly.

"How's that?"

"Only one can go all the way from Sihnon to Beaumonde without being seen."

"And just what did you do to figure that out, _mei-mei_?"

"You're not a Tam," she stated sounding irritated, but she continued distantly again, "Factorials, vector geometry, calculus... colored pencils."

She held up a star chart she'd been working on with a pink colored pencil.  A clear, thick jagged line zigzagged between two large, bold, purple Xs.  There was much writing in the margins and all over the chart not indicated with pink or purple, her scratch work.

"Aw hell River, you should know that'll be impossible to erase."

"Sounds like you're going need to get a new one."

--

Dinnertime on the first night of their two week journey to Beaumonde approached quickly.  After the misunderstanding on the bridge, River retreated to her room and Mal sat in the pilot's seat checking over her work.  He was impressed, he would've never thought of it.

River was sprawled across her bed, seeming to stare through the ceiling, smiling from ear to ear.  She was listening.  Her captain was proud.  There was a soft knock at the door, which startled River, she'd been so focused on the cockpit that she didn't hear Simon coming.

"_Mei-mei_," Simon knocked again, "How're you doing in there?"

Simon heard her faint voice from inside her room, but didn't really listen, "Today I stopped drifting."  Simon slid the door open to find River sitting bunched at the corner of her bed, hugging her knees.

"Are you all right River?"

"She has a purpose," she said as Simon rubbed her back.

"It's time for dinner," Simon said softly.

--

River floated into the galley with a proud ballet presence.  Mal looked up when he heard Simon take his usual seat next to Kaylee.

"That's some mighty impressive work you did up on the bridge there, ain't ever seen something so creative."

River was glowing; her captain was proud of her, daresay he was impressed by her.  Serenity was humming contently, River felt it: the love the captain spoke of.

"However, next time, just ask little albatross.  Don't scare the pants off me and mine."

"Yes'sir, captain," River said under a giddy salute.  Mal's eyes crinkled on the edges as his mouth tightened into a slight smile, an unusual gesture in the recent month.

The crew settled into the meal and tried desperately to settle into a lighthearted chatter.  The challenge was difficult to meet, they had lost a third of their numbers within the past month.  The seat next to Zoë still sat open, as empty as the conversation.  Wash always had the perfect thing to break the silence, to lighten the mood, and to spark conversation.

Zoë excused herself first and headed towards the bridge, where she would spend the evening into the early morning hours in the pilot's seat, twirling a plastic dinosaur in her hands.  Her feet would be propped on the console.  There she'd remain until she drifted off to sleep right before Mal would come to relieve her for the start of his watch.  It had been this way for the past three weeks.

River watched the doorframe through which Zoë had left.  Her eyes traced the warm trail left by Zoë's hand on the bulkhead.

"Fuschia," River said standing up and pointing at Mal, who halted the chopsticks on the way to his mouth, which sat open.  Her face was set in a confused frown.

"Ladies and gentlemen, our genius pilot," Jayne said from his seat, grinning.

"Not pink," she finished, leaving through the doorway behind Mal's seat.  On her way out she took her empty plate to the other end of the table, thwacking Jayne in the head with in, without noticing or at the very least stopping.

"Gorram moonbrain, might be good at flying, but still crazy as they come," Jayne muttered rubbing a red mark on the side of his face.

--

_She felt it poking, she knew she had.  Her spine, it wasn't sitting right.  Nothing was sitting right.  She clawed at her sheets until they tore and panted from her fit.  They were tricking her.  The system was tricking her.  She couldn't move anymore, they were coming.  They were poking._

"River," a distant voice called out to her, "River you're screaming, it's all right.  I'm here, Simon's here."

Her eyes shot open taking in her bright room, comfortable bed, and her brother.  She was cocooned in torn sheets.

"Simon," she whispered.

"Shhh, it's fine River.  You're here, you're safe.  I heard you from just outside the infirmary, I was," Simon followed River's eyes to Kaylee, who was trying to stand out of the way, obscured by the sliding door.

"I was alone, but I wasn't always."

"Shhh, you're not alone now," he held her head in his lap and tried to unwrap the shredded sheets from around her arms and legs.

"I am.  I'm the only one left."

"I'll find some new sheets," Kaylee looked at a loss of things to say and do, she needed something to do.

"A domino out of line, all fall down but the one.  If I were there, they wouldn't have killed them."

"River?"

"I'm the last piece of ivory; they can't just line the fallen ones back up.  They want more.  They want new ones to line up."

Kaylee still stood motionless at the door, the sheets long forgotten.  River fell asleep, her head in her brother's lap.

"Do you think she means to say, that all of those kids at the Academy are gone?  They're lookin' for more?  They're lookin' for her still?" Kaylee was panicking and it pained Simon to be unable to reach for her.  He wasn't sure who might've needed him more, River or Kaylee.

"Come here, _bao-bei_."  Kaylee settled on the bed next to him, reaching out to stroke River's hair.

"You think I should go and tell the Cap'n?" Kaylee asked tentatively.

"I'll talk to him, you stay with her."

--

"Just what're you playing at doc?" Mal squinted against the light, making out Simon in his bunk.

"Since when has my bunk become public domain?  I don't recall asking for a house call," Mal was groggy and bitter.

"River's been dreaming," he paused, "again.  It's worse than it's ever been."

"Define worse."

"She reduced a set of sheets to handkerchiefs.  She nearly started on her mattress.  She says they're after her again, apparently silencing the Operative only postponed their plans," he looked at Mal severely.

"She's not the only one they want, they're after more students, seeing as they killed all their others."

"_Chu__ fei wo li se_," Mal said, pulling on his shirt.

--

"Seems we have a choice here, we can journey around as planned to get our bearings," Mal paused, "or we can try to fish around in the dark and find these _hun__ dans_ at the Academy."

The crew had just sat through Simon's story about what he had really seen at the Academy, and what he had seen and heard from River that night.

"You including us in this decision?" Jayne asked.

"Yes, Jayne, I am."

"Since when have we become the ruttin' town hall?"

"Since I said so.  What do you all think?"

"Hell, I ain't never put down an opportunity to hunt some _zhu__ bajie_."

"That's what I'm lookin' to hear."

"I saw her face, I never seen someone look so scared, so broken, I'm in," Kaylee spoke, her face still ashen.

"Another excuse to take on some purple-bellies, sir?  You can count me right on in."

"Well then it's settled.  Don't know who or what we'll find waitin' for us, but I don't imagine it'll be easy to track 'em down."

--


	4. Beaumonde

A/N: Anyhow, I think my tense problems have resolved themselves, man scripts mess me up. They always had even in school.

Disclaimer: I don't own Mal and the crew, but I sure wish FOX didn't.

--

Beaumonde

--

_"A decent sort of planet... factories and the like.__ Some ranches, if you're more for the outdoors."_

--

_They had a system and you couldn't beat the system. They'd poke and prod while you slept and they'd come also. River Tam sat bunched on a barren bed, blanket and sheetless. She stared into the depths of the pattern, navy and white stripes running lengthwise. The cheap fabric shouldn't be too hard to tear..._

_What they didn't know was that River had a system. She couldn't trust anyone or anything, she couldn't see anyone. Everyone wore masks, in one sense or another. A mask over their brains, their minds, most of the time. She had no mask._

_River's system was simple: destroy what couldn't be trusted, to protect herself. She had to start with the mattress. It was there when she slept, watching her. No normal object should watch. She slept on the floor._

_It was there when she slept; they came when she slept and they came when she called. They were always there, with her, in her. They were sticking and crawling and meddling up inside of where they shouldn't be, so she cut it up. They had cut it out._

_Working her finger under an offending stitch, River pulled and yanked and tore until she saw a skeleton. Metal. Springs. Calculatingly, she searched for the problem. The pea. This was problematic. They had cut it out. They cut it out of her._

"They cut it out!" River shouted, snapping her eyes open suddenly. A moment later, as she stared at the ceiling, a tinny crash echoed through the room

She was lying along a bench in the dining room. She looked around as she sat up as if she wasn't quite sure how she got there. Simon and Kaylee stood in the galley, Kaylee's mouth was agape. Simon snaked his way around the counter as Kaylee bent to pick a pot off the floor. She had dropped it when River's shout had reached her ears. Protein mash was splattered on the floor.

"River what's wrong?"

"There was a pea. I found it, under the mattress," she began to rant, "I told them. I beat their system. They love systems. They're systematic-" she cut herself off, "system oriented. So they cut it out, to make me question my system. To make me crazy," her voice rose and fell in volume erratically.

"The pea, they cut it out of me," she held her shaking hands like scissors in front of her face.

"I'll be back, I'm going to find something for you," she protested, holding weakly on his arm as he turned to leave, "I'll be right back, I'm just going to the infirmary."

She remained silent, crying to herself until he left.

"They make it worse."

"River, _ying__ chi_, what is it?" Kaylee surfaced from trying to wipe up and salvage some of the mush and came around the counter. She pulled River into her arms.

"It'll be all right, Simon can help you. You ought'a know better'n anyone he's _zhen__ de shi tian cai_."

River buried her face in Kaylee's shoulder, the salty, warmth of tears working their way into Kaylee's coveralls.

"They come when I sleep."

Simon returned, an air-powered syringe in his hands. He sat next to River and pulled a small wipe out to clean her arm. River continued to protest.

"No, no, no," she cried weakly, a strong sob shaking her body.

"River, it'll help," Simon insisted.

"No," she whispered into Kaylee's shoulder. Kaylee rested her chin on the top of the girl's head after kissing the top of it.

She fell silent as the air hissed in the syringe and it was done. Silent sobs shook her body as Kaylee held her. Tears slid down Kaylee's cheeks, resting in River's hair.

Simon returned to the small kitchen and set about fixing dinner again. Kaylee wasn't sure how long she sat there holding River but she stayed until River peeled herself from her. River's body stopped shaking and trembling for quite some time and the crew started to surface for dinnertime.

"Kaylee, did you go and let the doc's pretty face charm you into letting him cook?" Mal said, sniffing the air.

"Smells like _fei__ fei de pi yan_ in here," Jayne felt the need to add.

"I um... was helping River."

Mal nodded his understanding; he turned to Zoë who nearly looked worried. The whole crew was worried; on the journey to the core River seemed improved. She slept through the nights, and could be found in the copilot's seat, sitting shotgun to Mal, smiling. She was coherent.

"Can't exactly help someone be crazy, what were you two doin'?"

"Jayne," Mal scolded.

"What!"

Mal didn't have a chance to lecture Jayne on being more sensitive to the situation. River stood and left the galley before anyone else had the chance to speak.

"Don't blame her, this _zao__ gao_ tastes as good as it smells," Jayne said dropping his fork onto his plate.

The rest of the crew quietly tolerated their meal, waiting for Mal to say something.

"Well," he started, "we'll be arriving at Beaumonde tomorrow afternoon to evening. We'll figure out what we're doing from there."

"We're a bit strapped for cash, so we might have to take a job or two, maybe try'n find Fanty and Mingo for some employ."

"I'll be needin' to talk to River. Find out exactly how much she knows and how much she can guide us."

--

"No one's in charge, 'cause there ain't goin' to be a need for makin' decisions, Jayne. I ain't goin' to say it again," Mal said making his way through Serenity's halls. He ran his right hand along the bulkhead as he walked.

"But Mal-"

"Ain't no buts about it Jayne."

"You'n Zoë are leavin' the ship. What if someone comes sniffin' around? We ain't exactly well-loved and unknown anymore," Jayne said stepping in the hatch leading to the cargo hold. He looked down at Mal who had already started down the stairs and was turned to face Jayne.

"Someone comes around, you tell 'em we aren't takin' any passengers," Mal turned back to keep going down the steps.

"Mal," Jayne whined.

"For the last time, no, you ain't in charge of my ship. I don't care who's gone," Mal shouted from the bottom of the hold.

Jayne growled.

Zoë cleared her throat from behind the mercenary. He jumped slightly and moved to the side. Zoë hurried down the steps and stood next to Mal, raising her eyebrows at him.

"You ready Sir?" she said, "First time you'll be stepping planet-side since all that fuss with Miranda."

"Ready as I'll ever be," the doors began to mechanically hum open, Kaylee at the controls.

"Don't let Jayne take over," he said to her as she nodded, "We'll be back in a couple of hours."

The doors split to reveal the harsh neon glow of New Dunsmuir by night. Harsh, metallic music thundered through the doors and echoed in the cargo bay. Mal and Zoë stepped down the ramp, Mal turned back to Kaylee.

"You keep her closed up until we call and tell you we're comin', _dong ma_?"

"Yes Cap'n," Kaylee smiled.

--

The Maidenhead bar was quiet for an evening. Mal placed his pistol in the hold to retrieve later after he got some answers. Zoë did the same and followed him down the stairs.

Mal surveyed the room and went straight to the bar, the bartender looked familiar and might recognize him. He might be able to slip Mal the information he needed.

"What's a guy got to do around here to get a drink?" he said announcing his presence. The bartender looked up, seemingly startled.

"What can I do ya for?"

"Just a couple of whiskeys," Mal grinned.

"Comin' right up."

"Listen up, as a barkeep you've got to hear lots of things," Mal supposed in a hushed voice, not quite as jovial as previously, "Man's gotta hear a good bit of rumors I imagine."

"Just what are ya gettin' at?"

"I'm lookin' for a person, two persons to be exact, twins."

"I don' know who you're talkin' abou' son."

"Just how many twins do you know?" Mal chuckled, "You see, I come to Beaumonde looking for employ and I seem to remember a set of twins who could help a man out."

"Fanty and Mingo?" the barkeep squinted, "I ain't seen 'em in weeks."

"Sir, you don't think-" she said quickly.

"No Zoë, Fanty and Mingo are far too slippery to get themselves caught," he turned back to the bartender, "What I do want to know is where they've gotten off to."

"Like I said, I ain't spoke to them in weeks. Last I heard they were headed back home," he continued seeing Mal's questioning look, "Dyton Colony."

"Shiny," Mal said throwing back his whiskey and placing a few coins on the bar, "pleasure doin' business with you and you can keep the change."

--

'_Kaylee__, we'll be comin' around in about twenty so have the doors open for us._'

"Sure thing, Cap'n," Kaylee said sweetly in the com. She had been torn from being curled up in Simon's lap outside the infirmary, but maintained her pleasant and happy tone.

"So where were we?" she giggled.

--

_They had the wrong person, she wasn't the right candidate. No, they couldn't have known that she couldn't take this. This wasn't the place for her. She loved her studies before, relishing at the thought of an exam, she could prove her aptitude. She dreaded the tests now, they weren't what she remembered._

_It hurt her. This wasn't learning. It wasn't fun, they had tricked her. Lied even. Shot her up with drugs, experimenting, playing with her body. Playing with her mind. It hurt. There had to be a mistake. She didn't fit in here. It had to stop. Simon could help, she needed to talk to Simon. He was doing well, he was smart, but they didn't want her to talk to him. No phone calls, no visits._

_Instead, write a letter. A happy letter with hearts and flowers in the margins. She needed a code, Simon was smart, he could help. He would help._

_River sat on her squeaky mattress in her tiny room. Plain white concrete walls, walls she'd claw and grasp at. There was a way out somewhere. A loophole. The floor was cold beneath her feet._

_She wasn't the first, but she was the only remaining. A remainder of one. A small number, but safe. Solitary. Not prime, but powerful._

_The first one died, she'd found out. They were too deep in, shaking hands, unsure cuts, sharp tools. Blood. Sweat. Tears. We're doing good work. Cold hands, blue lips, ashen, the end._

_River told herself to stop. Simon would help, he would hide, he would learn. She had to set her wheel in motion, push it down the hill for it to gather the potential to roll up the other side. She had to write this letter. Simon, she wanted to see Simon again. She stood. She had four pages._

_'Dear Simon,_

_'How is life in __Capital__City__?'_

_Yes, throw them off with small talk. Talk of balls and friends and summertime. Fabrication. Simon would see through it. He'd be here soon._

_Progressing, he had said. She was doing better, the star pupil, the teacher's pet. Not here, not to her, this was no school. She was important, she was the answer. She was the key. Nothing went wrong with her, it was perfect. She was a template. She wouldn't end up like the first young boy. She was taking to the training and conditioning better than expected._

_She would be the first success, and the model for years to come. Her body didn't even reject the drugs, controversial ones: Pax._

_She didn't like this, this wasn't learning. No, they had to have made some mistake. She wasn't fit for this, she was losing her mind. They had the wrong person and they had lied. Duped her._

_She hadn't been allowed to dance._

"River, honey," she heard, "River! It's alright."

"I wasn't the right person for it, I lost my head. They took some of it with them," she looked at Kaylee tearfully from her upside down perch on the couch.

"They didn't let me dance. Liars," she spat.

"Simon," Kaylee called weakly, "Simon!"

He poked his head out of the infirmary. "I need to open the door for the Cap'n and Zoë. I think River might need you."

River watched Simon upside down. Her tears fell up along her forehead.

"What happened _mei-mei_?"

"Nightmare. I told them I wanted out, a transfer. They wouldn't let me see you. They didn't let me dance," she added sadly.

--

"So Cap'n," Kaylee began, "Find anything helpful?"

"As a matter of fact I did. We're headed to Dyton Colony. Seem's Fanty and Mingo have holed themselves up there."

"Shiny."

"How's River?"

"She's been dreaming I think."

"Doc said anything?"

"He's not talkin' much," Kaylee frowned.

"Right, I'll just go'n find him then."

"Doesn't look like you'll have to sir," Zoë said looking pointedly at Simon who had come from the infirmary. He looked weary.

"How's your sister doin' doc?"

"Her nightmares continue to get worse; I think she's going through her time at the Academy backwards. I don't know what to give her anymore."

"More drugs doc? Don't you think she's had enough?"

"Maybe," he sighed tiredly.

"So where is she now?"

"She walked off somewhere after calming down. I don't think she's in her room."

--

River felt the cool grating pierce her feet. She stepped lightly towards the bridge, slipping silently around the corners, floating, drifting. She was a ghost. She wandered aimlessly to keep sleep at bay. The dreams were getting worse. They were so bad they were no longer dreams.

Simon loved her, he loved her too much. It made him blind. He wanted to fix her; she could see it in him. It's what Simon did, fix people, but he couldn't fix her. She was broken beyond repair, beyond hope. River only wanted to pick up her pieces and keep them safe where she could reach them. She wanted someone to help her keep track of them. She didn't want a shot. River decided, "I need a protector."

--


	5. The Black: Part II

A/N: I feel like I've gained some momentum.  I feel like I've finally gotten this story moving, maybe.  I've got to work on longer chapters though.  Perhaps though, with the new developments, they should get longer.  Hopefully I'm done with my changes so I can just write.  I am running out of space on my half-sheet-of-paper outline.  Yeesh, this might as well be a black sheet of paper.

Disclaimer: I'm not doing this for profit, and I don't own any part of Firefly/Serenity, nor do I claim to.

--

The Black – Part II

--

_"...a little mylar and glass being the only thing separating a person from... nothing."_

--

Kaylee turned the part over in her hands, there had to be some way to expand the coupling on this Grav Boot she'd found several months back.  It just was too small but the part itself looked to be just out of the box.  It was probably the newest part she'd ever found in a junkyard.  Kaylee had picked it up on a whim, thinking it probably had some integral defect but all her inspections up to this point had yielded no problem with the part.  The one problem was the front coupling of the part was quite a bit too small to thread into the engine easily.

She had an idea, she could and an extender to the front couple on the part and hope she'd be able to wedge it in.  Kaylee really loved this junkyard find and she wanted so badly to outfit Serenity with new parts.

She put the gleaming Grav Boot to her side and set about her real task: clearing out the primary G-Line.  It'd gotten gummy and gunked-up in the recent weeks.  She tied her hair back loosely and in the process smudged grease along the tops of her cheeks, along her temples, and ears.  Grabbing her wrench, she slipped under the engine and loosened the line on both sides before placing it in a pan.  She reached around the fittings where the reg couple had been to flick on the auxiliary G-Line.  She was so absorbed in her work it took Simon several throat clearings to get her attention.

"Simon," she said cheerfully, looking up from the floor, "What're you doin' on my side of the ship Mister?"

"I needed out of that infirmary, away from the charts and screens and diagrams," Simon said exhaustedly, "I'm stuck, I don't know where to go."

"Well," Kaylee offered thoughtfully, "You're always welcome here."

"Thanks," he moved to sit in her hammock.

"First though, make yourself useful a sec and hand me that pair of pliers.  This switch down here is a little gummy and I want to be sure I switched it all the way on."

Simon's eyes followed to where she pointed.  A grubby, old looking pair of pliers sat near his left foot.  As he handed the hefty tool over, he noticed the grease left by them on his hand.  He picked at it and tried to rub it off as Kaylee tinkered around under the engine.

"I almost feel like I make it worse," he volunteered absentmindedly.

"'Scuse me?" Kaylee asked, her voice distant and strained from under the engine, "You'll have to speak up some 'til I'm done, it's louder'n _di__ yu_ under here."

"Nothing."

"Come on Simon, I ain't ever seen you look so worried."

"She was doing so well.  Her medications were working, keeping her stable and happy.  Where'd I go wrong?" his voice was ridden with fatigue and doubt.

"Don't be silly Simon, you're the best doctor I've ever seen," she replied in earnest.

"I know you think that, but sometimes I don't," he blankly stared at the floor.  "As much weight as your opinion has," he added offhandedly.  A lull in the thrum of the engine carried the comment to Kaylee, where she paused.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, I just didn't come here to have my ego fluffed Kaylee," he said tensely.

"Listen to me will ya, but couldn't it be possible that things were shiny in River's 'verse until this past week.  She'd found somethin' that she could do on ship, to keep her mind occupied, keep those bad thoughts out?  That now the Academy really is lookin' for her and more children?"

"I suppose," he added sounding defeated, "But why can't I help her out?"

--

River padded silently along the foredeck hall past the crew dorms.  Her hand trailed along the left wall.  She fixed her eyes forward, through the hall and on the bridge.  She could just make out the Captain's left arm, fiddling with some switches.

She continued until she reached the stairs, where she paused for a moment before continuing.  She had wanted to see if Mal was too busy to be bothered, but it seemed he was just keeping watch and roaming the Cortex.

"Thought I heard someone comin'," Mal said as he turned his chair towards the hatch.  He was smiling.

"Won't sleep," she stated.

"Why's that little one?"

"Simon doesn't know he's hurting me," she offered, "He wants so bad to help, so bad to make them go away.  The more he pumps in me, the more they come."

"Your medicine?" Mal asked and River nearly answered his question before he asked it with a nod.  Mal trained a concerned look on River.

"But you don't need to worry," she said dreamily.

"What do ya mean?"

"I got everyone and everything I need here," she smiled.  She reached her hands to either side of the hatch she still stood in, as Mal watched her she looked to be hugging the bridge.

"That's a comfort, little albatross, now why don't ya come'n sit shotgun and keep me company if you don't wanna sleep."

"Yessir."

--

Simon had gone to River's dorm to check on how she was sleeping.  He remembered tucking her in after giving her a cocktail of medications he'd been working on.  Her sheets were mussed up and thrown to the side as if she'd restlessly gotten up to roam.  Simon started to worry, if she'd been dreaming she would be upset, maybe in a state that she might hurt herself in.  He hurried from the room and set to finding her.

He hadn't passed her in the walk from the engine room to her room but of course that didn't mean anything.  She knew the passages and pathways of Serenity better than he did.  She could easily have been wandering and he would have never seen her.  He drew in a ragged sigh and headed to the cargo bay.

No sign of movement here, he checked the corners and behind crates and the mule.  He stood in the center of the wide bay and looked up, searching for a scrap of bright fabric hanging from the catwalk, it was her favorite place to lay and think.  There was no glimmer of color from any of the reaches of the catwalk.  He started up the stairs to the shuttles.

After a thorough search of each shuttle he still hadn't found her.  He was growing tired and weary.  He hadn't slept soundly since her nightmares returned.  If anyone was making rounds late in the night in the past week, they'd continually stumble upon him drowsily hunched over a screen in the infirmary or rummaging in the drug cabinet mixing together concoctions to try on River, to make a meager attempt at giving his sister rest.

He'd flashback to the time he'd gone to rescue her.  He remembered it so vividly, she'd been so terrified in that chair and no one cared, no one showed a bit of concern.  When he asked over her screams about it, out of his brotherly concern, he was immediately suspicious to the "doctor".

He didn't want her to go back, not even in her dreams.  Simon climbed the few steps leading to the aftdeck hall, still searching.

--

River tilted her head slightly, sizing up Mal Reynolds.  She smiled slightly at him.

"That sounds wonderful."

River floated softly out of the hatch and into the bridge, she took her seat at the copilot's console.  She turned slightly to watch him and propped her feet on the console.

"Tell me a story," she requested dreamily.

--

There were few places left for Simon to look: foredeck hall, crew dorms, and the bridge.  He stood for a moment in the galley his eyes tracing the flowers that bordered the small kitchen.  He could almost see Kaylee standing a top a ladder painting the dainty flowers one quiet afternoon to surprise her Captain.  Mal probably acted like he was upset at first, but immediately liked them.  The thought of Kaylee's dainty flowers being painted brought a smile to Simon's face.

He remained for a minute trailing the border up, across, and down with his eyes.  A sigh escaped his mouth as he tore himself away from the galley and towards the bridge.

As he stepped through the hatch to the front of the ship he could make out Mal's boots propped on the left side of the pilot's console.  On the other console was a pair of petite bare feet, River's feet.  The small laugh of his sister was carried to him from the bridge.

"You see we'd been stationed in this _fei__ fei de pi yan_ for weeks, wasn't so bad really, but Private Jackson got it in his head to decorate the place.  With what you ask?" he paused laughing, "The Sergeant Major's underpants."  Another fit of giggles came down the hallway.

Simon reached the hatch and cleared his throat causing both Mal and River to turn suddenly.

"Good evening doc," Mal smiled, mirth still written on his face.

"Yes, good evening indeed Captain," he said shortly.  "Just what are you doing out of bed River?"

"I won't sleep."

"You need to, let's go," he said reaching and grabbing River's arm.

"Simon."

"Doc," Mal removed his feet from the console and moved to stand, he made his way to stand near Simon.  Simon's eyes never left his sister's, emanating the concern and worry he's been carrying for several weeks.

"This isn't a discussion, people need sleep, River you need sleep," he said impatiently, worry in his voice.  "I can give you something so you can sleep if you'd like."

"What if I wouldn't like that?"

"Well I'm your _ge-ge_, I know what's best for you," he tugged at her arm.

"Simon!" River pleaded.

"Doc, I suggest you talk your hands off your sister.  She's been telling me things you ought'a know."

"What is it _mei-mei_?" he asked, his voice dropped in severity drastically.

"You're hurting me."

Her three words fell on him heavily.  His face fell immediately at the thought.  He was hurting River.

"The medicine makes it worse."

His one comfort, his one crutch, medicine had been hurting his sister.  It made him hurt her.  The realization made his heart drop to the pits of his stomach.  Simon loved his sister so much, he couldn't bear the obvious fact that he had been hurting her and never noticed.  Never bothered to notice, he'd been so blinded by the medicine he'd need to fix her.

Simon nearly staggered under the weight of her few words.  He looked to the floor, rubbing the back of his neck.  His head shook from side to side.  He couldn't think anymore.  The medicine wasn't working, wasn't helping, he'd have to find something that would.

"Simon, you don't need to fix me," River said, "I'll be all right."

That had been the straw that broke his back.  All of the burden he had carried over the past year, she no longer needed him.

"Simon, don't be upset at me," she said sadly, "_Ge-ge_, don't be sad please."

Simon simply turned and left the bridge, heading down to the infirmary.  If he couldn't find out how to stop the dreams, he'd certainly find out how he was making them worse.

--


	6. Dyton Colony

A/N: Phew, I had some difficulty with this one. I knew what I wanted to do, but it hardly came to me.

Disclaimer: I do not own these beautiful characters, and it makes me sad.

--

Dyton Colony

--

_"...nice to see someone from the old 'omestead."_

--

Simon sat on the ramp that lead out to the lush countryside of Dyton Colony. It was the first time in the two days since they landed that it hadn't rained. Fog rolled off the distant hills and over the small plain that Serenity was landed on. He hunched over his cortex screen and squinted at the small words about new discoveries about the amygdala.

He looked weary almost broken. Deep, dark circles surrounded his tired red eyes. He stifled a yawn while rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. He looked in desperate need of rest, but Simon had barely slept in days and he didn't want to, not until he found something to help River.

"How're you doin' Simon?" a sweet drawling voice asked from the cargo bay. Kaylee moved to sit next to Simon on the ramp. She looked him over concerned.

"You ever seen any place so green?" she said when Simon didn't answer her.

"Oh, er," he hadn't noticed her presence, "What was that?"

"You ever seen a place so green?" she smiled as she looked over at him.

"It is beautiful," he said looking up from his screen and truly taking in the sight for the first time.

"What's that?" Kaylee asked, nudging his arm and nodding towards the screen.

"I've just been doing some more research."

Kaylee simply nodded and looked out at the approaching fog.

--

Mal and Zoë rode through the mist on the mule headed towards the small town. They were told by some farmers near where they had landed that the town was only about ten miles north of their landing spot. They took the hovercraft down the ten mile stretch of dirt and gravel road through the fertile countryside; it was nice to go on a drive where they didn't have to worry about dust in their eyes.

Dyton Colony was one of the more developed rim settlements. It had the luck of the fact that the terraforming held amazingly well, providing for dense, thick, flourishing plant growth. The soil became fertile within the first years after the start of the terraform and soon after that the plant growth supplied a strong atmosphere. Once the terraforming was deemed entirely successful, the Alliance had offered the chance for prisoners to help with the construction in exchange for reducing their sentences. Thusly, much of the population of Dyton Colony had a less than savory reputation. The people of Dyton Colony developed a harsh accent to go with their reputations; a person wouldn't need to hear but a word to recognize someone from Dyton.

"Where do you suppose is a good place to start looking, sir?" Zoë spoke up as they came to the outskirts of the town.

"Figure we'll seek out a pub, people always seem to know more'n they should there."

"Makes sense," she said, her eyes searching the buildings they passed. Unlike other rim and border towns they'd come across, these weren't crude straw and stick buildings, reminiscent of the old frontier; these buildings were built with brick, stone, and most impressive for the rim, concrete. The street changed from dirt and gravel to cobblestone as the buildings thickened and squeezed together.

"Here looks like a decent spot," she pointed at a building with a few men standing around outside wavering on their feet.

--

_She'd been there for a couple of weeks, she supposed. She never got to see much of the outside or the daylight in this place so counting days was proving difficult. They never told her the time; she just floated from one place to the next. River already knew she didn't want to be here anymore, she wanted to go home and go back to the graduate program. She wanted to see her parents and her brother. She even missed Volger, who was jealous of her, and the young adults who called her little mouse in her physics class._

_The chair was cold and hard. The desk was too low. When she scooted her chair in to draw, her knees and thighs scraped the underside of the table. The cold flimsy metal tabletop buckled and bent under the weight of her dull pencil, making a metallic rumble as she drew. Thunder._

_Even though she hadn't been here long, she was already popular. Popularity was something she had never known, she'd enjoyed it at first, and she thrived in the attention they gave her._

_The luster of the interest they gave her wore off once the first ones came to visit. They dressed professionally. They always came together, two at a time. The most peculiar thing about them though, River noticed, was their always gloved blue hands._

_River gleaned from them and the teachers and counselors that they were like her once. The first graduates of this rigorous program. They lacked something though: insight. They were methodical in everything, down to their dress. They didn't reason with you, they'd stick to the mission and if you pushed them otherwise, the consequences were grave. River saw it in the way they were treated when they arrived at the Academy. She couldn't explain it, but she felt it. The air shifted once they walked through the doors._

_They liked to visit her. They'd come in and watch her studies. She continued her physics and theoretical math classes. Those studies, in turn, were applied to her movement classes. They called it dance, when she first started it, but the movements and routines they taught her didn't resemble the art she enjoyed more than anything. They didn't have feeling to them or longing. She was taught fast, short, swift, raw, and very calculated movements. There was no room for interpretation. When she had taken liberty to put a more elegant flair on her movement, she was chastised._

_They didn't give her extra homework or lines or lectures when she took things into her own hands, they did something far worse. They gave her nightmares, hooked her up to machines, plunged syringe after syringe into her veins..._

_River knew she had been asleep for a long time, her eyes darted open and she knew she should be awake, but her body ached with the burden of too much sleep. Cautiously she moved to sit on the edge of her bed, to stare down at the floor between her feet. She could feel the air shift around her, the visitors were here. The first students were back to observe._

_River shut her eyes to the light she felt working its way in. She wasn't ready for more tests, she wasn't even sure she was awake yet. So much time was spent wondering if this was just a really bad dream. River wasn't even sure for how much of her time here she had been awake. Her mind still slumbered, and her body was heavy. Her muscles were limp and tired. The dull pain of strenuous work burned in them, but she had been asleep._

_She was awake though, she woke up as soon as she heard two distinct sets of footfalls coming down the hallway. They were here, she had visitors._

--

River watched her brother from the lower cargo bay hatch. His back was to her and he appeared to be leaning against one of the supports on the ramp. He was seated, hands seemingly in his lap, absently busy. His head was bowed.

She awoke rather suddenly not too long ago. She had been dreaming and she could still feel the cold sweat drying on her upper chest. It cooled her against the chilly damp air. She thought on her nightmares for a moment, at the Academy they broke her brain, but they also mutilated her mind. While Simon wanted to help, she couldn't fix both of them when she couldn't control them.

She watched his languid movements for a while longer before she moved from her perch in the hatch. She walked over slowly, slower than his tired movements. When she reached him, she looked over at his shoulder for a moment seeing the scan of her tortured brain on a screen rotating gradually.

She slid down next to her brother, placing a hand on his back. She rested her head on his shoulder. He barely acknowledged her touch with a small turn of his head. He kept his eyes down and stared first at his screen then at his knee next to River's.

"Might not need a doctor," River said lucidly, "but I still really need a brother." Her eyes watched the side of his face.

"River," Simon said as he put the screen aside and held his sister.

Instead of moving to the infirmary or fumbling through a medical bag, Simon sat rooted to the ramp, "Tell me what happened _mei-mei_."

River kept her chin on Simon's shoulder for a moment longer and grasped at the back of her brother's shirt and she smiled. She pulled away from her brother, feeling as if she would finally be heard. She was finally able to voice what she'd been trying to. Nothing clouded her mind anymore, she was in control.

--

"I can't be long," Kaylee said to the camera in Shuttle One. "The Cap'n and Zoë'r off lookin' for some work and I suspect they'll be back anytime now. We're landed at Dyton Colony, I ain't ever seen a place greener. It's all so beautiful and peaceful."

Kaylee fiddled with a hole in the knee of her coveralls as she paused, "I just wanted to let you know we miss-" she stopped a moment, "Well I miss you."

"Just sorry I couldn't catch you in your room, but wave me back the next chance you get. I'm sure you're all kinds of busy, makin' appointments with all kinds of handsome, rich men," Kaylee smiled. "Hope to hear from you soon." Kaylee pressed a button near the camera control to cut off her session.

--


	7. The Bank Heist

A/N: It's been hard to write and tweak recently, been working over night at a place where internet isn't readily available.  So I apologize for my momentum slowing down some.  I'm working on getting all the pieces in order before the real seriousness starts.

Disclaimer: As much as I'd love a Mal to myself, he's not mine and neither is the rest of this 'verse.

--

The Bank Heist

--

_"Makes it a chore for us naughty men to slip about... means turning down a score of honest jobs."_

--

The tavern had yielded just the results Mal and Zoë wanted.  They found a job, a mite difficult, but well paying.  There was a bank, on a planet about a two days ride from Dyton.  It was closer to the Core than Dyton was, had a few Alliance posts, and tended to be a place where wealthy people of the core went for vacations to take pictures next to tumbleweeds and wooden luxury cabins to show how they were truly roughing it.  The bank they were after was just outside of such a resort. 

Well-to-do Core's people would frequent the bank making deposits in the credit account of stacks of cash they'd won at a posh frontier theme casino or withdrawing money to tip for their real mud massage.  Regardless of the business the patrons had to do, there were always large sums of cash on hand to fit whatever needs of the customers.  However as lush and easygoing the aura surrounding the resort and bank were, getting in the vault was going to prove difficult.  No one but the bank manager, who was an Alliance official, and the armed guards who emptied the vault once every other day considering the amount of monies going in was substantially higher, many services at the resort now accepted credits, even for tips.  However, it was customary to reward payoffs at the casino in cash so they customers could swing around their wads of money and feel more like high-rollers.

Once a week, the vault was nearly emptied and the funds were taken back to the casino, a constant cycle.  It was a short trip and any lag in the funds would spark suspicion and maybe even a search.  So picking off the armed guards, while an easy approach, was not ideal.  They wouldn't be off planet fast enough.  They needed to take the money from the vault itself.  Mal was hard at work at the cortex screen in the bridge looking for a possible schematic of the building.

"You're in need of a Trojan horse," called a soft but sure voice from the hatch.

"Well seein' as we don't have a ton of wood or a pre-owned wooden horse, little one, we're goin' to need to find another way," he said still looking over the screen, "'Sides I don't know how well they'd take to a large wooden horse appearin' at their door.  It won't go over as well as the first one."  He looked at her, a smile in his eyes which crinkled at the corners.

"I don't mean a horse literally," she said, a laugh present in her voice.

"Well then what exactly do ya mean, little albatross?"

"Disguises, armored transport," she held out her fingers as if counting off the things they'd need.

"How're we getting these things?"

"Stealin', o' course darlin'," River said with a twang in her voice.

--

The crew gathered at the dining room table around a hand-drawn map on the back of the now colorful star chart.  River and Mal had been busy at work in the bridge since leaving Dyton.  She'd drawn up a map based on information they'd found about the resort and town on the cortex.  River color-coded sections of the map with colors that Jayne couldn't pronounce.

"Chartreuse is the casino, mauve would be the welcome center..." she said pointing at each area as she explained the map.

"Gorramit, what in ruttin' hell do cartouche and move gotta do wit' this?"

"Chartreuse and mauve," she said exasperatedly, pointing at each color respectively.

"Look like green and red ta' me.  Maybe purple."  River rolled her eyes at him and opened her mouth to speak again.

"Regardless, River's found a reliable source for the layout of the place, and she's drawn this up, even has some kinda idea of how we're gettin' in an' out," Mal said, breaking the two up.

"Care to elaborate sir?" Zoë said tetchily.  She didn't take it well when this meeting was called outlining the plans and she wasn't clued in on the plans beforehand.

"You see, we send the fair doctor and Kaylee here all dolled up an' prettified to the casino, they'll scope out the place watchin' for someone to hit a big jackpot.

"In the meantime, we'll be parkin' Serenity on the other side of this hill here," he said pointing at the map before continuing, "It's not too far from the bank and it's out of the way.  Closer to the bank than the casino, so when the money doesn't arrive, we'll be long out of atmo.

"Now the tricky part is, getting' in that armored transport.  I'm suggestin' we hang low, scope out where the armored transport and armed guards are stationed.  River and I suppose it's somewhere around here," he pointed to the far corner of the resort from the bank, "Bein' as that's where a majority of the Alliance traffic is headed.

"We'll get onto that transport one way or another, Kaylee and the doc'll tell us when someone hits a big pot, so's we can guess when about the armored transport will be on it's way," Mal looked around the room.

"So my sister's a criminal mastermind now?" Simon said with a note of uncertainty in his voice.

"She's proven very useful in this case," Mal said smiling as he turned to the rest of the table, "Any questions?"

"What the _di__ yu_ is this green block?" Jayne asked gruffly.  River threw an empty cup, narrowly missing Jayne's head.

--

"Sir, I know River has her strengths, but you've never gone and proposed a plan that's been so haphazardly put together.  In spite of how well drawn that map was."

"She had an idea, I thought it was worth somethin'," Mal held as Zoë paced the length of the bridge in between the two consoles, "I don't see why it's such a problem with you."

"I don't got much left Mal," she said her voice full of emotion, "I at least would like to still be first mate."

Mal was alone in the bridge for a while, milling over what he'd done early that day.  For the first time since he and Zoë had been together he didn't run something by her, he didn't ask for her input, he didn't even think about her in the planning.  She was his first mate and knew him longer than anyone he had left, but he just stepped right over her in the planning.

"She's lost in the woods and can't see a clear path."

Mal swiveled the chair to face River in the hatch.  She was gathered to one side of the doorframe one arm inside the bridge the other out.  Her right cheek pressed against the cool metal in the inside of the frame and she looked in the bridge, her eyes feeling for something.

"And just what are you doin' up _xiao__ jie_?" Mal said breaking her gaze from the ceiling.

"Too much noise, everyone's talking tonight."

--

They arrived planetside in a little less than two days time.  Simon waited in the shuttle while Kaylee washed the last of the grease from her elbows.  She dug out the frilly pink layer cake she wore to the ball on Persephone for the occasion.  After putting on the dress, Zoë spotted some black remains around Kaylee's elbows and she tiptoed gingerly to the sink in the galley and scrubbed any part of her not in the dress until it was as pink as the fabric.

She finally joined Simon in the shuttle, her hair pulled back in a loose bun, a touch of makeup lining her eyes and dusting her cheeks, and her lopsided smile tickling her lips.

"See, I can look civilized," Kaylee joked when Simon's jaw dropped slightly.

"You'll have time for gawkin' later doc," Mal said coming in a moment after Kaylee, "We're needin' the two of you to start keepin' watch in the casino."  At his words, Kaylee moved to the shuttle controls and started powering the shuttle up, Mal turned and left.

"Now that he's gone," Simon said as the shuttle started to unlatch from Serenity, "Am I allowed to gawk?"

--

"River, you'll stay with Serenity while Zoë drops Jayne and me about a block from the Alliance station.  She won't be long, so stay put on the bridge."

River simply nodded and took a seat on the floor of the bridge facing forward.  As they moved to the cargo hold, Zoë spoke up.

"Sir, you sure you want to leave her here alone?"

"Ain't no way around it Zoë, I don't want to leave my ship alone, I need a gun hand, and I can't drive the mule myself or else we'll have to leave it behind," he said climbing into the mule.

"Ya won't put me in charge, but you'll leave moonbrain on your ship alone.  Don't make no sense," Jayne grumbled while he inventoried the small arsenal he managed to hide on his body.  His hands slid above his pants.

"Jayne, just look at yourself and ask that question again."

Jayne paused as his hands ran over his buttocks.

"Aw hell."

--

It'd been near half a day when Mal heard Kaylee's voice over the com he carried on his person.

_"Some fat, rich _ben dan_ just won hisself fifty thousand platinum Cap'n."_

_"Kaylee!"_ came Simon's voice after hers, as if scolding her.

_"What?  I can't be a lil' peeved that it ain't me?  Alls I've won is an empty purse."_

"Enough you two," Mal said into the com, "Tell me when he leaves the casino."

--

The call that the man left the casino came only an hour after the first call, night fell, and Jayne and Mal sat in a hole-in-the-wall bar near the Alliance outpost so they could see through the window.  Last call was nearing and soon they'd be put out on the street.  It was then that Mal noticed a lot of movement near the back of the outpost, where he saw the armored mules earlier in the day.

"Jayne, let's get a move on."

"Gorramit, I just got 'nother ale."

"Jayne."

Mal was out the door as Jayne took a large gulp and a mouthful of ale for the road.  He followed quickly on Mal's heels wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

The armored transport rounded a corner where it was just out of sight of the outpost.  The vehicle stopped for a minute as the guards got situated and called the bank; it was time for them to move.  After the guard put the com down, Mal flung the door open and put his gun to the guard's nose.

"The hold's empty, I swear!" the young guard said.

"Good," Mal said as he landed a punch knocking him out.  Pulling him out of the vehicle, he started taking the guard's uniform off for his disguise.  Jayne was already half dressed.

--

_"We've got the horse,"_ Mal's voice came over sounding tinny on the speakers in the bridge.  River lay motionless on the floor staring up at the stars through the window.

"River, you listennin'?" Zoë asked from the hatch.  River never moved.

--

"Docking in four... three... two... one," Kaylee said into her com on the shuttle.  She and Simon had returned from the casino, poorer than when they had left.  Kaylee was somehow chipper.

"So doctor," she said as she turned from the pilot's seat, "Dontcha think I clean up nice?"

Simon's eyes widened as he cleared his throat once.  His hand went to his collar to loosen it a tiny amount.  Kaylee caught him in a kiss.

--

Mal and Jayne were well on their way to the bank, just one block from it.  Mal parked along the front of the bank and him and Jayne went in the front door.

"We're here to take the money back to the casino," Mal said to a man in a very well-trimmed suit.

"Of course," the man said down his nose at Mal and Jayne, "Right this way."

There were so many sacks of cash to haul out of the bank that it took several trips even though Jayne could carry three times the normal amount of sacks at once.  Mal stayed with the truck as Jayne went in for the second and third trip.

"I shall let the casino know you're on your way back," the bank manager called from the top of the steps leading into the bank.

"Yes, sir," Mal said through the open window.

--

_"River, get her warmed up, we're high tailin' it outta here with the booty,"_ Mal's tinny voice said over the speakers.

Zoë sighed audibly, she'd been watching River the entire time they were on the ship and she hadn't moved from the floor where she lay.  Zoë started to move to the pilot's seat to get the ship warmed up for her when River sprang to her feet.

_"Someone better be down in the hold to meet us, door open,"_ Mal ordered.

Zoë turned on her heel and headed to the cargo bay, leaving River to the pilot's console.

--


	8. The Black: Part III

A/N: This one was a toughie, sorry it took so long.

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em, but I love playing with them.

--

The Black – Part III

--

"..._Burn the land and boil the sea, you can't take the sky from me..."_

--

Once they'd gotten out of atmo and a course had been set for Dyton to give Fanty and Mingo their cut, the crew set about stowing the booty until they landed.  Carrying that much cashy money was suspicious if they were stopped, they were likely to be mistaken for drop smugglers or dealers.  There was on last bit of business to be taken care off, they certainly couldn't be caught with an armored vehicle in their possession or else they might really be found out.

"Anything that ain't bolted or strapped down, strap it down," Mal ordered, "And anything light enough to carry, take it outside the cargo hold.  Zoë make sure the mule is secure."

Everyone was busy, Jayne moved and secured the heavier stuff with Mal as Kaylee, Simon, and River started moving the smaller stuff to the common area outside of the infirmary.  They stacked small crates and  loose items, including Kaylee's flimsy folding chair, among the couch and armchairs.  Zoë climbed to the top of the bay, looking at the underside of the mule that was hoisted over the entire hold.  She didn't move to latch anything so it looked to be stored properly.  Simon and Kaylee took the last crate out together and Simon stumbled over the bottom of the hatch as he moved backward through it.

"River head on up to the bridge, and wait for the signal, else you're liable to kill us all."

"Aye aye Cap'n."

Mal smiled after River, "The rest of you, seal up the bay.  Don't forget the shuttle hatches and any vents."  He surveyed and checked over the strapped and cords holding down the large crates and weapons cabinet.

--

_"All's set down here darlin',"_ Mal's voice came small and metallic over the speaker in the bridge.

"Here goes nothing," River hummed back as she hit a set of switches to her right.  A fast paced shrill series of beeps began at the third button; she was initiating the cargo hold airlock release.  The warning continued as the kept running over the sequence.

She hit the final switch in the sequence as she watched the out the window at the front of the bay.  She focused of the area in front of Serenity's belly and took hold of the controls.  The transport would come rocketing out of the bay soon and it could go a multitude of places after leaving the doors some of which, given Serenity's trajectory, would send it plowing right into the ship.  Within a moment of her slender fingers grasping the yoke, she caught a glimpse of the small shuttle as it shot out of Serenity's hold and then it was gone, far ahead of them.

"All clear Captain," River said as she switched the airlock closed.

--

_For a prestigious government-sponsored academy, the accommodations here weren't pristine or even interesting by any stretch.  It was like a scene out of a police drama.  She sat at a scuffed and dented metal table, which sat slightly crooked, made of a very lightweight material so it buckled and bent slightly under the weight of her folded hands.  The chair was rudimentary, lacking in any slightness of comfort or value.  It was made of a faintly more sturdy metal and the sea green paint that once covered it was scarred and chipped.  It wobbled too.  Forward and to the left, backward and to the right, River tipped slightly back and forth in a nervous rhythm._

_It was slightly cooler in the room than was comfortable, even for it being so warm in the reception area.  The chilled air swirled from the vent and around the room, chilling the metal where she teetered and rested her hands.  The frostiness crept its way to her arms, knees, and tip of her nose._

_The light was harsh and felt too bright even though it was quite dingy in the room where she was.  The pale off-white walls were masked in shadows and a mirrored window ran nearly the length of the wall in front of her.  Her face looked gaunt in the light, nearly skeletal.  It reminded her of summer camps, faces outlined only by the jittery campfire and a flashlight below the chin.  The faces told ghost stories and she looked like she should be part of a ghost story._

_No, this was prestigious academy and she was honored to be even considered.  She anticipated the day for weeks before this entrance interview and she filled out applications and forms, so many she lost count.  Now it was time, they were finally going to met her in earnest._

_She sat in silence on the wobbly chair for a long while, expectation building in her chest and balling itself in the pit of her stomach.  It was something to keep the butterflies company._

_Someone was coming; she knew they couldn't keep her waiting long._

_"Miss Tam," said the man who had come in the door behind her, he sounded jovial and there was silk to his deep voice, "So nice to finally have the pleasure of meeting you.  You're quite impressive on paper."_

_River watched the mirrored window as the man shut the door behind him.  He was probably a bit older than her own father, who was seated in the reception area waiting for her to finish.  He wore the long white coat of a scientist even though he wasn't in a lab.  His hair was neatly combed and not too long, but also not as short as a military cut.  She'd seen several men with short haircuts as she was escorted to this room; they wore neatly trimmed suits and curiously bright blue gloves._

_It began with the formalities of an interview: handshake, introductions, and small talk.  She answered his questions with concise detail and as the interview continued she found herself smiling.  This was about her and challenging her mind.  It sounded very promising._

_"And you like school?"_

_"I do.  It's... Sometimes things move a little slowly for me."_

_"I imagine they do.  What's your favorite subject?"_

_"I'm finding physics a challenge."_

_"You're in the graduate program already."_

_She was and she loved learning but the jealousy she had enough of.  She was getting away from the young adults who taunted her and called her little mouse.  She was going to be truly challenged._

_"You're very intuitive."_

_"Simon says I was born with the third eye.  He hates it when I can tell what girls he likes," she added with a laugh._

_She smiled broadly as she answered that question, fondness alight in her eyes.  Simon, she'd miss Simon so much.  But surely arrangements could be made for him to visit.  She was sure he'd want to see her in action and to see her at her very best.  He'd be so proud to see her finally meet her full potential._

_"That's what this institute is all about.  Your mind, letting it do everything it could.  Does that sound like something you'd be interesting in?"_

_It was exactly what she was interested in.  She wanted to wrap her mind around bigger problems than she could imagine and make a difference in people's lives.  She thought on it a moment and then smiled brightly._

_"Would I still be allowed to dance?"_

_"Of course," the words bore into her with a falsity that she couldn't place._

--

River thought on her dream a moment before stirring or even opening her eyes.  Thinking back on it, she missed the blissful innocence she had.  She missed the ability to articulate what she was after.  She'd been so confident in that first interview.

It became impossible to speak with all the voices she heard, all the feelings she felt, and all the thoughts she gleaned.  However, before the Academy, she'd felt she could read people very well.  Their speech patterns and facial expressions were like a book to her.  She'd never thought of it as anything more than being intuitive, in tune to people.  Turned out it was so much more, she foresaw things and looked into people's minds.  Even as she lay in bed, she knew where he mind was going to go, knew Zoë was sitting in the bridge turning a small palm tree over in her hand, knew Jayne was in his bunk, and knew Simon was trying to find some peace with Kaylee in the engine room after still pouring over his cortex screen.  She felt her way in further, Mal was moving things from the common area to the bay again.

It was quiet now and she worked her way over the details.  The coat, it wasn't the coat of a scientist, no.  He was a doctor.  A neurologist or psychologist sent to size her up and pick her brain looking for signs of weakness or problems in computation.  He'd known from the beginning what would be happening to her and how they'd destroy her.  She reached her arms out to her sides, clasping each side of the mattress as if the bed was going to tip to one side and she didn't want to slide off.

There it was.  That hum and throb of the engines and systems running just below the bulkhead was right there.  She held onto Serenity to keep herself from falling too far into her thoughts.

She killed that man with his own pen and they stopped letting her out for anything that wasn't a lesson or a test.  The days melted into each other this way and she didn't know how long it was before Simon showed up to spring her from that cage.

Mal was still shuffling crates and boxes around just outside of her room.  She sat up and turned her legs toward the side of the bed.  He seemed almost too quiet.  She slide the thin door aside and opened her room to the rest of the ship, one bit of a whole.  She crept, barefoot and silent, behind Mal who was taking a pause and a few deep breaths before he kept moving.  She nearly pressed the side of her body against his left side and he still didn't notice her.

"Need any help?"

He jumped visibly, "_Wo__ de ma he ta de fen kuang de wai sheng dou_."

River smiled at his unnecessarily long exclamation.

"Was that at all necessary?" he asked giving her a sidelong glance.

"No," she said turning to face him not shifting the distance between them, "But it was fun."

"You so keen on helpin', get to carrying," he said strictly but with a glint in his eyes.

"Yes _lao__ ban_," she said a note of mocking in her voice.

Mal watched as she bent to lift a crate that was probably as large as she was, she remained graceful somehow while trying to balance with far too much weight hanging in front of her knees.  She was so small and slight that the crate barely rose above her ankles which presented a problem as she reached the hatch and she had to step over the bottom of it.  She gently placed it on the floor directly in front of the hatch and leapt over to the other side where she tugged and pulled putting her body at a strange angle to the floor to drag it over the threshold.

"Little one, you're goin' to fall doing it that way.  And when you break your leg your brother will throw a fit and hold me responsible."

"Simon is such a bother," Mal laughed at her words.  She was still focused entirely on the crate which was now tilting reluctantly through the doorway.  She was bent over her legs, holding onto the crate and pushing with the balls over her feet against the rough grating.  How her feet weren't hurting something fierce stunned him.

"Let me help, I hate to see someone get hurt on my watch.  'Specially womenfolk," he started towards her.

"No.  Almost enough pull to counteract the weight and gravity.  I can do this."

"Way you're doin' it, it'll take an hour to move one rutting crate five feet," as if on cue River stumbled backwards as the crate climbed over the doorsill.  It landed on its side and River managed to stay on her feet out of breath.  The crate now blocked the hatch on the cargo bay side and Mal still couldn't continue carrying things back.  She sat on the crate and took a deep breath obviously pleased.

"River, it's right in the middle of the gorram doorway."

"It's nice here," she patted the bit of the crate that she wasn't seated on motioning him to sit.  Mal slowly accepted the offer and took a big step over the crate and sat next to her barely fitting on the small crate.

"So just what're we doing sittin' here?"

"Shhh," she scolded, "There isn't always a need for speech."

He sat for a while regarding the cargo hold from this angle.  It was quiet down here and since they'd lost three of their ranks there was so little of a chance of bumping into people down here.  Kaylee was always tinkering with something it seemed like, Simon would be in there with her pouring over notes on a screen, Jayne had always kept to himself, and Zoë spent most of her free time looking wistfully out the front window in the pilot's seat.  River's shoulder pressed into his upper arm, the rest of her arm hung flush with his.  How this girl had worked her way into his mind and had him sitting here on a _chun_ crate blocking the door was a mystery to him.

Mal felt something stir inside of him as he looked down over his shoulder at her.  Her face was blank, almost like she was waiting for him to speak even after she scolded him.  She appeared to be listening hard.  A small smile crept to his face as he glanced back over the hold.  He narrowly missed the smile on her lips when he looked away.  He thought over what the task at hand was after they delivered some money to Dyton.  Next, they'd take on the Academy.  It seemed daunting: _the Academy_.

He thought for a tactical way to ask about it, something not too brash or impulsive but such were his thoughts.

However, she spoke first, "You can just ask."

"Where do I even start, little one?"

She took a deep breath and began her story.  She told him of everything: her sessions with the psychologist, her visitors, her lessons, her discolored bedroom, her first day, her first murder.  As she began, her head drifted to his shoulder and her pale temple pressed against it.  He stiffened at the motion, but realizing her story was a long one, he relaxed enough to lean back some with his hands resting on the back of the crate.

--


End file.
